78 years-old man dies of COVID-19 in Delta, active cases now 10

Govt directs health workers to increase their index of suspicion

By Ovasa Ogaga,

A 78-year-old male patient who was referred from a private hospital in Warri to the COVID-19 Treatment Center, Central Hospital Warri, Delta State, at about 2 am today, died 3 hours later.

His death makes it 6th COVID-19 death state, out of the 28 cases of COVID-19 recorded, since the first case was reported on April 7, 2020.

The Delta State Commissioner for Health, Dr Mordi Ononye who made this known today in a statement said that the old man was brought in unconscious and died this morning, Wednesday, May 20, 2020, at the Central Hospital, Warri.

According to the Commissioner, the 28th COVID-19 case had been in the private hospital for days before he was referred to the treatment Centre where he died within 3 hours of arrival.

Ononye said that since the index case of COVID-19 was detected on April 7th, 2020, the State has recorded a total of 28 cases which were from the 425 persons tested so far in the State.

He explained that five of the recorded deaths were between 47 and 78 years of age and they all had one pre-existing illness or the other, including diabetes mellitus, hypertension and chronic liver or kidney disease.

Explaining further he said that one of the deaths was that of a young man of 20 years who had been suffering from blood cancer and anaemic heart failure that took him to the hospital frequently for treatment, including blood transfusions.

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As of date, the State has recorded 28 confirmed cases, 6 deaths, 12 discharges and 10 active cases still being managed in our treatment centres.

It is obvious from the recorded deaths that the most vulnerable persons among us are those who have pre-existing illnesses and are elderly.

They, therefore, need special protection, first, by themselves and then by the public:

1. As much as possible, these vulnerable members of the population must avoid going outside their homes and avoid crowds even in their homes,
2. If they must go out, they must always wear face masks, like other members of the public

iii.        Handwashing with soap and water and use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers must be frequent,

1. They must not hesitate to visit the hospital for a checkup in other to detect any change in their health conditions early.

Dr Ononye stressed that as strategic partners of the State Government in the containment of the spread of COVID-19, private healthcare providers are strongly enjoined to have a high index of suspicion with all patients.

He stated that suspected cases should be promptly referred to the government treatment or holding facilities for further evaluation in order not to lose precious time in determining the COVID status of the patients.

All healthcare providers, public and private, must observe standard precautions in their approach to all patients so that they can relate to the patients confidently and treat all of them with the dignity the patients deserve.

The Delta State Government is doing everything possible to protect Deltans from the COVID-19 Pandemic and we plead for the cooperation of all Deltans to defeat the virus.